Cyberpunk: XYZ

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Chapter 5: Night City II

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"Hmm, sure?" X was a bit baffled but still put it on, "Not like I am the one who has to deal with the smell... Time for a nap," X shrugged as he closed his eyes only to open them a second later though instead of his wild eyes, what appeared were two exquisite inquisitive eyes.

The inquisitive eyes only had an hour of rest that night. In fact, X rarely sleeps well, more often than not; sleeping only a few hours a night. Tonight, he only slept one hour, his eyes focused on knowledge that seemed like the most delicious of meals.

Y doesn't see the world the way X does despite having the same eyes. Y sees the world as numbers. He seeks to delve through those numbers, to know what they mean.

Just like now as he studied the language in which the system of the laptop was written, and a few other languages, only then did he redirect his attention to the source code of the laptop.

There were a lot of open-source operation systems on the net, so he naturally installed one instead of the one that came with the laptop which didn't allow much freedom.

The next step was to understand the open-source operation system thoroughly before cleaning it up, and only then did he go back to absorbing knowledge.

The more he read, the more he knew, the more he realized that the word privacy doesn't exist in Night City. Everything is programmed to watch you, to keep an eye on you... To program you.

The cyberspace of Night City was as much of a hellhole as the city itself, so Y preferred to stay away from it until he feels secure about browsing the dark space of the net.

For now, he could only provide some protection to himself before going back to work, it was morning after all, "Morning, Misty."

"Morning," Replied Misty with a bright smile, "Here, hand-made breakfast. by Misty the lovely."

"Let's see," X let out a smile as he took the breakfast box, "Pancakes and boiled eggs. Misty, you really are the loveliest of them all. The city doesn't deserve you."

"Oh, don't exaggerate," Misty shook her head, "Vik and a friend are waiting for you."

"First, how about you read my fate," X couldn't help but wonder, "Does this city deserve someone like me?"

Misty eyed him strangely before looking at his hand, showing an even stranger look, then a few flips of tarot cards and she had an even stranger look, and so, there were three cards before her, the Lover, a question mark, and the hateful.

"The City loves you just as much as you love it. The city... Wants to ask you questions just as much as you want to ask it questions. The city hates you just as much as you hate it. You have quite the strange reading," Misty pointed out.

"Huh," X nodded with narrow eyes, "You know Misty, you have quite the gift. Use it well."

X made his way to the clinic where he found Vik and the friend waiting for him, Vik's friend, "Vicky, good morning."

"Say what?" Vik raised a brow.

"What?" X said what?

"Hahahaha, Vik, your friend knows how to joke," The friend let out quite the loud laugh.

"Oh, you're Misty's boyfriend, right?" X asked.

"Huh? N-no? I mean, that's the hope, but... Not yet? Like, I want to but you know, am trying," Well, the friend turned into a rambling mess in a matter of seconds.

"Hahahaha, how the tables have turned," Even Vik couldn't but laugh aloud, "X, I introduce Jackie Welles, a good friend of mine. Jackie, this is X, he will take care of you if am not around."

"Ahem," Jackie coughed the embarrassment away, quickly getting his bearings back together, "So you're Vik's new student, heard a lot about you."

"Assistant, more like, but sure," X shrugged, "And I heard you're his former student, did well?"

"Graduated, actually," Jackie nodded, "With honors at that, you doing well. Like, I can count on you with maintenance?"

"Yeah yeah, you can count on him," Vik stood up, crossing his arms, "Now go on that table and let him have a look at you."

"Yeah?" Jackie glanced at Vik then at X, seeming nervous, "But like, are you sure? Didn't he start working here, like, a month ago?"

"Jackie, c'mon, trust me," Vik assured him.

X placed his laptop by the side before putting on sterilized gloves, "C'mon. Have a seat. Don't be a pussy, not like I will mess you up that much."

"That much?" Jackie was forced to go with the flow, following X's instructions.

"Jack in," X instructed, eyeing the screen before him, showing Jackie's past session history, and only after Jackie jacked in did he have a scan of his current condition, "A Bit broke, are you?"

"What?"

"Your cyberware, quite outdated," X remarked, "Not judging though. I'm quite broke myself."

"That supposed to be a code for something?" Jackie questioned, "Looking for side jobs?"

"Maybe," Said X, "I'm an upcoming Netrunner myself, so be on the lookout for me, will ya?"

"We'll see," Jackie made no promises.

"Hmm, everything seems fine," X noted, "You just need a firmware update, and you should be good to go." Vik nodded, and X got to work.

Updating the firmware was quite easy, taking only a few minutes, and Jackie was good to go, leaving X and Vik alone, "Quite ambitious, huh?" Vik remarked as he got back to his seat.

"Yeah," X nodded, taking a seat close by, opening his laptop as he continued, "You know, my therapist once said that I have delusions of grandeur... I feel like proving him wrong."

"Huh?" Vik narrowed his eyes, eyeing X strangely before shaking his head, "Well, good luck."

X never wasted a single second of time, his eyes bright as he buried his face in his laptop, watching the numbers move and change, so much ever-changing code for him to absorb.

However, despite his or their gift, they knew that it would take them a while to catch up to decades of innovation. It's still early 2076, so X knew they still had plenty of time.

X's studies would only be interrupted by clients in which case, he either does the operation himself or helps Vik with it, only if he isn't yet proficient in the specific operation.

"Here, I have some material for you to study," Soon it was time to close though before that, Vik handed X a data shard, "We have a big client tomorrow, so prepare for it."

"I'll be ready," X nodded, and took the shard and his laptop, preparing to leave.

"Hey, I told you before, but you don't have to sleep outside," Vik stopped X as he said, "You can crash at my place if you have nowhere to go."

"Appreciate it, Vik," X shook his head, "But I like the roof much better, quite cozy up there."

"Well, Misty has a way of finding unique places," Vik shrugged, "The offer still stands if or when it rains."

"Thank you," X walked out. For now, he liked not having a roof over his head. Hell, even when it rains, he just takes cover by Garry's side or by the other homeless nearby.

Anyway, it wasn't the first time he lived the life of the homeless, "Quit waving that gun around, choom. Might hurt someone."

Even babies have guns in this godforsaken city, so it was no wonder that just as X walked off the set of stairs leading to the clinic, he found a kid sitting on the ground and playing with a gun.

"Worry not, choom! I'm a trained professional!!! Pcho pcho!!" The kid smirked as he responded, actually pulling the trigger multiple times. However, no sound of gunfire was heard.

"And that's why I always unload the gun," A girl who seemed to be in her early twenties remarked, seated near the kid, "Honestly, Don't know what to do with him. Wants to be a trained professional, he says."

"Oh? Looking for death, kiddo?" X crouched near the kid as he asked, "How can you call yourself a trained professional when you don't even know how to use a gun?"

"Knew it! Uncle X, you are a trained professional! Teach me please!" The kid begged.

"Maybe when you grow a pair," X shook his head as he stood up, "Look out for your sister first, then think about meeting death, alright?"

"What he said," The kid's sister was in full agreement, and so did the kid, seriously nodding.

"Marrie, good night," Said X as he started walking toward Misty's shop.

"Good night, X!" Said a smiling Marrie before instructing her little brother, "Say good night too!"

"Good night, Uncle X!"

"Aghh, I am not that old," X murmured to himself as he entered Misty's shop. In contrast to Vik's clinic, she doesn't close until midnight.

"Uncle X, huh?" Case closed by Misty's voice as she let out a giggle, handing him a plate of rice balls, "Well, I guess good night, Uncle X."

"Good night, Aunt Misty," X took his dinner and walked back, taking an elevator nearby to the roof, his new home.